yahoo

PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - A Delta Air Lines Inc. jet carrying 206 passengers and crew made an emergency landing in Portland, Ore., on Monday after reporting flap trouble, the airport and airline said.

Flight 1107 en route to Portland from Atlanta landed at Portland International Airport at about 10:40 a.m. PDT (1:40 p.m. EDT) with no reported injuries, they said.

``They were having a problem with the flaps and they declared an emergency as a precautionary measure, and, as it turned out, they were able to get the flaps down and they made a normal landing,'' Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said.

Initial reports from the airport said the plane, a Boeing Co. 767, had 208 people aboard, but Delta said later it had 200 passengers and six crew.

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Also, last night a commercial airplane made an emergency landing in Florida because of smoke in the cabin. Haven't found an online version of the story yet.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), August 21, 2001

Answers

Canadian Jet Evacuated in Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)--Smoke poured into the cabin of a Canadian jumbo jet as it taxied down the runway at Orlando International Airport forcing 324 passengers and 14 crew members to evacuate.

The Air Transat Lockheed L-1011 was moving into takeoff position Saturday night when smoke began streaming from the ceiling lights and the center of the cabin, passengers said.

The pilot braked hard and ordered everyone to leave plane on the emergency slides. Two people suffered minor injuries.

``It was nerve-racking,'' said passenger Susete Sampognas, who was on the flight to Toronto with her husband and two young children. ``Some people were crying. I was shaking. My daughter was crying.''

Air Transat specializes in charter flights from several Canadian and European cities to vacation destinations such as Orlando, according its Web site. The airline flew the passengers to Toronto on Sunday.

Company officials did not immediately return a phone call Sunday.

http://www.gopbi.com/shared/news/ap/ap_story.html/National/AP.V8322.AP -Aborted-Flight.html

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), August 21, 2001.

oops, must be this one Rachel...

Airplane makes emergency landing Plane was 15 minutes into flight before coming back

By CHARLES RUNNELLS, crunnells@news-press.com

A Spirit Airlines plane carrying an estimated 160 passengers had to make an emergency landing Sunday night after smoke was reported in the cabin.

The MD-80, which was bound for Detroit, Mich., had left from Southwest Florida International Airport at about 10:15 p.m. It was about 15 minutes into the flight when it turned back and landed at the airport, passengers said.

The passengers on Flight 678 reported seeing firetrucks and ambulances on the ground as the plane landed.

“Oh my God, I was so nervous," said Michigan resident Joann Rowlett, 46. “See?" She held out her hands, which were trembling.

Passengers said they smelled smoke in the cabin. “It smelled like the coating of wire burning," said Eric Calhoun, 23, also of Michigan.

Calhoun had come to Fort Myers for a vacation. “Who needs Adventure Island?" he joked. “I've got Spirit Airlines."

Spirit Airlines employees wouldn't comment. Susan Sanders, spokesman for the airport, referred all media inquiries to the airline.

A message left at 12:30 a.m. with Spirit Airlines wasn't returned immediately.

The emergency landing was the second problem the passengers had to deal with that night, they said. They were originally supposed to fly out on a 5:15 p.m. flight on a different plane, but that flight was delayed because the plane was having air conditioner problems.

The new plane was flown in from New York's Laguardia Airport and the passengers boarded in Fort Myers at 10:15 p.m.

The airline was boarding passengers on a third plane at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, but some passengers said two times was enough, and they weren't willing to risk a third one.

“I'm too shook up right now," said Julia Davis, 34, of Michigan.

http://www.news-press.com/news/today/010820plane.html

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), August 21, 2001.

Thanks, Doris. The L1011 was reported in our tv news; I hadn't heard about the MD80 incident. Wish the reporters would hang around longer to ascertain the cause of more of these incidents. Maybe they do, and the ensuing reports just get buried.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), August 22, 2001.